THE Arts Centre was packed full of people all eagerly awaiting the start of the eighth Think Slam on Friday night.

Old friends caught up over a cuppa, competitors did some last-minute tweaks to their talks, and Festival of Literature organiser Matt Holland buzzed around the centre, checking everything was running smoothly.

“This is a very exciting evening!” he told me before disappearing into the auditorium.

Nine people braved a rowdy crowd, standing in front of them on stage and delivering their thoughts within a strict three minute time limit.

Matt was the score-master and timekeeper. Anyone who overran their allotted time heard the gentle yet sinister tolling of his bell.

Issues raised ranged from weighty subjects like Brexit, governmental reform, tax, and how mob mentality leads to loss of humanity,, to more offbeat takes on litter, whether all lawyers are evil, and communication between the sexes.

All entrants presented their philosophical ponderings before judges scored them on different attributes.

Then four semi-finalists gave another talk on different subjects, followed by a final round between the top two.

The evening was enthusiastically compered by Sara-Jane Arbury, who kept things moving swiftly along and entertained the eager audience.

Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of London Stephen Law stuck around after giving a talk about his book earlier that evening to be the Think Slam’s ‘Judge Supremo’.

Before the winner was revealed, he praised the participants.

“This has been immense fun, I’m so impressed by your ability to express yourselves in an engaging way.”

Jeremy Holt was the winner of the trophy and title of Swindon Think Slam Champ, runner-up Louisa Davison got a bottle of champagne.

Other entrants John Yates, Robert Stredder, Martin Hawes, Tony Hillier, Chris Eddie, Lucy Watson and John Ball got a chocolate bar for taking part.